Photo taken by Albertech.net

I had a super early start today. I left the house at 5am and was on the plane by 6am. Albert and I arrived in Seattle just a little before 9am, and we started heading out to Vancouver, Canada.

It was my first time here. Albert and I were pretty impressed with the weather! We knew it would be cold, and we heard that rain was in the forecast. Thankful not a single drop fell. It was really chilly, but the day was bright and sunny, perfect for a photowalk. We walk all around Downtown because everything is pretty close by. We had dinner at Kintaro, a Japanese ramen restaurant, and that really warmed us up! After dinner, we went on a sightseeing photowalk around the town until our fingers froze. The photos turned out great and I can’t wait to explore some more tomorrow. Maybe it’ll warm up.. just a bit?

Here are a few photos that we took today.

Photo Slideshow

One thing you absolutely must do in Toronto is visit the CN Tower! You can see the entire city, right from your table!

Enhance your experience on the CN Tower by going to lunch or dinner at the 360 Restaurant on top of the CN Tower. It’s slightly more pricey than Horizon Restaurant, but you get an amazing view of the city. The windows are thoroughly clean, so you can peak out them as you eat. My absolute favorite part is that the restaurant rotates, you get a full 360 view of the city! By the time you finish your meal, you would have seen the city from every angle!

Going up to the Glass Floor alone is about $23. So why not have a meal that includes the Look Out and Glass Floor view? Enjoy a nice and quiet meal with an marvelous view.

Once you are done with your meal, the elevator will take you down one floor. This is the floor with the glass floors and look out, as well as the Horizons Restaurant. Expect this level to be a little bit more noisy. You’ll see many people running around, taking photos of themselves on top of the glass floors. You can stand on it and look 1,122 ft down! Looking down gives me the chills!

Note, the elevator ride to 360 Restaurant, Look Out, and Glass Floor Levels is complimentary with the purchase of a main entrée by each guest at 360. Normally, it’s $23 for just the ride up to the tower!

Important Links

• 360 Restaurant
• Make reservations a few hours before your meal. You won’t have to wait in line when you get to the Tower!

Photo taken by Daynah using Camera+ on the iPhone 4

Day 2 in Canada was a day of passing through beautiful towns and taking walks in these amazing cities.

We spent the entire day in Niagara Falls yesterday. It’s a good idea to get a hotel there since it’s about 2 hours from Toronto. Day 2 in Canada was mostly driving to Toronto and stopping at various places along the way.

We drove by the Niagara Botanical Gardens and saw so many busses pull in that we had to stop by ourselves! The gardens were beautifully maintained and contained all sorts of plants. Walking around was quite relaxing, especially on such a nice day. There were also horse carriages giving tours of the gardens. And in the center of it was also a Butterfly Conservatory. There were lots of photo ops here. The only thing lacking were the roses. They’re not in season yet, so some parts of the gardens were flowerless.

We left the botanical gardens and took a left. If you drive for a few minutes, you’ll pass by the Niagara Floral Clock. Be sure to turn on the curvy street and stop by! It’s a giant functional clock made perfectly out of flowers. You can see a photo of it above.

We continued to head East and stopped by a little town called Niagara-on-the-Lake. My friend Claudia suggested that I visit it, and I’m so happy she did. This town was gorgeous! Every lamppost had a big bouquet of flowers hanging from it. Everywhere you looked had colorful blooms. The only difficult thing in this city was finding parking, and I can see why! It took us a while, but after driving up and down the street a few times, we found street parking. This city had lots of unique little shops and take a nice walk to each one. We stopped by The Epicurean Restaurant for lunch. It’s a cute little restaurant tucked away from all the excitement happening in the street. The food was quite fresh, and they make it when you order it. Albert highly recommends the beef pot pie. (See food pictures!)

By 5pm, we hurried off to Toronto. The drive there wasn’t as spectacular. They closed down the Gardier Expressway, so you had to take the Lake Shore Blvd (almost like a highway) that parallels it. That means you get all of the local city traffic. It took about 30 minutes to go a few miles. On the bright side, look to your left and you’ll see some amazing ads made of plants and white rocks. It looks lovely! And on your right side is Humber Bay. You’ll see piers, parks, and beaches as you drive to your hotel. It’s a slow, but scenic route!

After we checked into the hotel, we took a while into Downtown Toronto, in search for a good place for dinner. The city was packed! There was a music festival happening, and people singing on the sidewalk, and just excitement everywhere. We walked around a bit and found a place called Fine Asian Bowl, which was mostly Vietnamese food. Delicious!

After dinner, we took the subway and headed toward the CN Tower. We got there a bit too late, and they were closing up, so we ended up taking some night shots with the tower instead. We walked back to the hotel after, which was very close by!

There’s so much to see and do in Toronto.. that I wish I had another day or two to explore.

Tips: To-Do list if you’re driving from Niagara Falls to Toronto..

• Visit the Botanical Gardens
• Take a photo with the Niagara Floral Clock
• Stroll down the streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake. I hear that they have nice wineries too, so visit those if you have time.
• Have lunch here, I recommend at The Epicurean Restaurant
• American and Canadian money are inter-changable in Niagara Falls and Toronto, so no need to exchange them at the airport.

Disclosure: Many thanks to Virgin America and Klout for their special promotion. I was given free roundtrip tickets for LA-Toronto as part of a Klout Perk. #VXToronto

Photo taken by Daynah using Camera+ on the iPhone 4

Niagara Falls was such a magical experience. I touched the Falls up close and felt mother nature’s beauty and power.

Thursday night, Albert and I hopped on a plane and headed to Toronto (one of Virgin America’s new stops). It was a red eye flight so I was trying to get as much sleep as possible. Every seat has a tv, but I was good and didn’t flip through much of he entertainment.

Our plane landed in Toronto at 7am EST (to me, 4am PST) and we hurried off and got our rental car and drove to Niagara Falls. It’s about 2 hours away from Toronoto. The weather in Canada could not have been more perfect! It was sunny, nice, and warm and I was just overjoyed.

We headed straight to see one of the ace wonders of the world! You can easily see the Niagara Falls from the Fallsview Casino. Just walk out to the back patio, and you’ll see the natural beauty from a distance. Follow the path on the right, take a ride down the steep hill, and it takes you right in front of the Falls. Believe me, it’s an amazing sight! I could probably stand there for hours if they sun wasn’t beaming so much. You can stand right next to where the water falls over. There’s a railing of course, but it’ll take your breath away nevertheless. Once you’re done snapping your photos, take a walk and follow the path to the left side.

Be sure to have your sandles on, because your journey to the Maid of the Mist will leave you soaked with fantastic memories! It’s a boat ride that goes right into the mist of the waterfall. Once you get on the boat, the best viewing area is on the left side and if possible, closer to the front. I can’t really explain it, but being that close to the waterfalls was quite an invigorating experience! You’re given blue ponchos to wear so your clothes and bags don’t get wet, but your feet/shoes might. Oh, and your face and hair will definitely get wet, even if you’re on the bottom deck! Be sure to bring a water camera and capture the magical moment!

After you get off the boat, you walk into a fun souvenir store. When you leave the store, you can pick you your Maid of the Mist photos! It’s green-screened, but looks magnificent! This is a good wifi spot and you have a nice view of the Falls there too.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Niagara Falls on a Friday or Saturday night, watch the spectacular fireworks show over the waterfalls. The show starts around 10pm, so plan accordingly. After the show, take a walk down to the rails and watch the waterfalls change colors in the night. The lights will be on until midnight.

If you’re up for some adventure, check out the attractions at Niagara Falls. From what I heard from locals, the Maid of the Mist is the best ride, but I also had my heart set on “Cave of the Winds” too. You can climb up and see the back of the waterfalls. If only my vacation was a bit longer.. :)

Tip: If you don’t have an international phone plan, there’s free wifi at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, in the FallsView Casino (next to the water fountain0, and in the gift shop after you get off the Maid of the Mist. ;) Check into Foursquare after you get off the boat… you’ll get a special badge!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Virgin America and Klout for their special promotion. I was given free roundtrip tickets for LA-Toronto as part of a Klout Perk.

We left San Francisco early in the morning and arrived in South Lake Tahoe around 2pm.. just in time for our first snowmobile ride! We got to ride around snowy mountains for 2 hours and it was so much fun and adventurous!

New Year’s Eve was fabulous! We headed into San Francisco at 11pm to see the fireworks on the waterfront. I guess we should have expected there to be a lot of traffic. My friends and I got out of the cars to get a closer look of the bridge and fireworks. It was an amazing show! Happy New Year everyone!

After the crowds left, my friends took us to Treasure for the great view of the Bay bridge. We got some incredible shots in the super cold weather! It was such a great night and a wonderful way to kick off the new year!

Next stop.. Tahoe for snow!

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! What are you doing the last night of 2010?

I’m on a little roadtrip with my college friends! We’re all heading up to Northern Cali to spend the holidays together. We’ll be at the big countdown event at the SF Waterfront. Anyone wanna join us? :) See you in 2010! Happy New Year!

I’m flying home right now so I have some time to reflect on the amazing time I had in Hawaii this year. This is the first time I went island hopping on a trip. It’s a little more moving around, but definitely quite exciting! It’s been a long and wonderful vacation filled with lots of learning, eating, adventures, and quality time with friends!

Here were some of my trip’s highlights:

• Spending a lot of time with my cousin Ed when Albert & I first arrived on the island.
• Eating at all of Ed’s favorite places on Oahu — Zenchu, Zippy’s, Sanoya Rahmen, and more..
• Meeting my Twitter friends face-to-face at the Hulaween Tweetup!
• Social Media – Having my Twitter / Facebook / BrightKite / DailyBooth / Foursquare / Gowalla / Posterous friends follow me on my vacation! Sorry about the excessive posts, but it means a lot to me that you all came along virtually! I loved all the suggestions and advice you’ve given me on this trip. You’re welcomed to virtually come along anytime! :)
• Rethink Tweetup – This was just geektastic! Christine Lu and the [Re]Think Hawaii crew could put together quite a gathering! I met so many geeks on the island that night. Loved it!
• Flight over Kauai – This was the best adventure on this vacation. The Garden Island is so amazing from up above – away from all the cars and buildings and just being a bird flying over nature. The view was quite magnificent.
• Hiking in Waimea Canyon in Kauai – It was like seeing a mini Grand Canyon with rainbows!
• Hiking up Kalalau Trail – The view is amazing! Look down and you see the beach and ocean waves. Look up and you see green trees, waterfalls, mountains, and more!
• Amazing hotel view in Oahu – the sunset from the room was amazing. Sunrise is just as beautiful.
• Dinner with Nathan at Street Side Inn
• Dinner with Gypsy at Akasaka Sushi
• Learning how to make mochi with Renee from Happy Hearts Mochi!
• Taking amazing photos of sunsets.
• Visiting a cute scrapbook store called Pineapple Cove!
• Kayaking in Kailua Beach Park – We started late, so we only got to Flat Island, but it was so much fun kayaking in the ocean!
• Eating Shave Ice everyday!
• and so much more..

This has been a great experience and memorable trip! I can’t wait to browse though all the 60 gigs of photos and scrapbook them all (well.. most!) Pineapple Cove, I might need your help! :)

Hawaii, Aloha for now.. but I’ll be back!

Geeky as it is, Albert and I did stop by the Apple Store to ouuu and ahhh a the new magic mouse, ipods, and macbooks. I just really loved the window display too, and the Apple tech guys there knew that. Maybe my dancing in the window gave it away! They were all super friendly, and even took this photo for us with my iPhone.

When I handed him my iPhone, I jokingly asked if he used one of these before. :) Thank you for the photo Apple Genius from the Royal Hawaiian Apple Store! It’s nicely located in Waikiki between all the ritzy shops.

ps. Happy 1 Year old Apple Store! I was actually here last year to see your Grand Opening. :)

Also, this is our second stop at an Apple Store today.. I wandered into another one while heading to Pineapple Cove!

Daynah & ManLe at Pineapple Cove – Photo Taken by Albertech on iPhone

Everytime I go traveling, I try to stop by local scrapbook stores to pick up a few special things I can’t find at home. Of course, this trip to Hawaii is no exception!

I was unsure about where to start, so I asked on Twitter where the best scrapbook store in Oahu was. @TweetPea sent me a link to Joscie’s “Scrapbooking in Hawaii list” and I couldn’t be more happy! Going down the list, I fell in love with the store named “Pineapple Cove.”

At the Rethink Hawaii Tweetup, I was asking people about local scrapbook stores, and I someone sent a tweet out about my question, and again, I was pointed to Pineapple Cove! Wow, now I really HAVE to visit this place!

Well, I’m finally at the store, and I have to say, it’s a pretty big place full of scrapbook and crafting goodies! There are tons of paper, stickers, wooden cutouts, albums, diecuts, and much, much more! I picked up a few Hello Kitty Sizzix Diecuts, wooden flowers, and a few other things. I was quite happy! :)

Although the shopping part was fun, the best part was probably meeting ManLe, the store owner of Pineapple Cove. She’s the sweetest and nicest person ever. She was teaching me all kinds of scrapbook techniques and giving me ideas for projects… that believe it or not, I can’t wait to go home to start working on.

I spent hours in the store, just learning about techniques, chatting about scrapbooking, Twitter, and other social media topics. I know staying in a store for a few hours is not something people do on their vacation, but this was a slice of heaven for me. If you love crafting and you’re in Oahu, be sure to check out Pineapple Cove! I’ll definitely be back on my next trip!